Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM’s address at the unveiling of important projects relating to housing and urban development in Maharashtra
My dear brothers and sisters who have gathered here in large numbers!
Mumbai and Thane are those parts of the country that have aided in fulfilling the dreams of the nation. Many ordinary people from small villages and towns have attained fame and prosperity here. Those who are born here and live here are generous and benevolent. The people here have offered a place in their hearts for everyone. This is the reason why the complete spectrum of India can be seen here. Whoever comes here gets immersed in the colour of Mumbai and becomes a part of the Marathi culture.
Brothers and sisters,
Today Mumbai is expanding and is undergoing all-round development. However, it is putting a pressure on the resources at the same time. Its impact can particularly be seen on its transport system, roads and railways. Keeping this in mind, in the last four or four and a half years, sustained efforts have been made to improve the transport system of several adjacent areas including Mumbai and Thane.
Foundation-stones of the projects worth more than Rs.33 thousand crores laid today also include 2 projects of metro lines. Besides, projects related to the construction of houses for 90000 poor and middle class families were started today in Thane.
Friends,
Transportation is an important dimension of any city or country's development. India is among those countries that are undergoing rapid urbanization.
As per a recent research study, in the coming decades, all the top 10 cities with fastest rate of development will be from India. That is, one strong factor of rapid development of our country is the people living in our cities.
Mumbai, in any case, has always been the centre of economic activities in our country. And in the future, this is going to expand. Therefore, after the BJP-led NDA government was formed at the centre, we started focusing upon the infrastructure of this place.
Several crores were allocated for the Mumbai local trains. The old railway bridges were modernized. Apart from Mumbai local, other modes of transport were also expanded, of which the metro rail system became one influential medium.
After the expansion of metro in Thane, it will provide a better connectivity to Mumbai, Thane and other nearby regions.
Friends,
The first project of the Mumbai metro came up in 2006. However, it is difficult to state as to where this project got stuck-up for eight years.
The first line could be started in 2014 and that too for just 11 kilometres. Only 11 kilometres in 8 years!
After 2014 we decided that both the speed as well as the scale of laying metro lines would be increased.
In the last four years, various new projects were started to lay a network of metro in Mumbai.
In keeping with this idea, the foundation-stones of two more metro lines were laid today. That is, in the next three years, 35 kilometres long metro line will be added to the existing network.
Besides, between 2022 and 2024, the people of Mumbai will get 275-km long metro line.
The projects whose foundation-stones have been laid today will not only benefit the people of cities like Thane , Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Dahisar and Mira Bhavandar but will also put an end to the issue of traffic jams in Mumbai.
Friends,
These facilities are in accordance with not only today's requirements, but also with the needs of the year 2035.
Brothers and sisters,
We are trying to ensure that along with making your lives better and easier, the poor and the middle class people too get houses to live in.
The central government has decided that by 2022 when India will be celebrating 75 years of independence, every family of the country must have its own house with cemented roof. Moving towards the same goal, today the construction work for 90 thousand new houses has begun.
Friends,
Our work culture, attitude and speed are different from that of the previous government. The previous government had constructed only 25.5 lakh houses in the last four years of their tenure i.e. 25 lakh 50 thousand while in the last four years our government has constructed more than 1 crore 25 lakh houses for the people. This is more than 5 times. This means that if they had to make such a progress, it would have probably taken 2 generations to complete the work.
Under Pradhan Mantri Shahri Awas Yojana, 8 lakh houses are being constructed in the entire Maharashtra. Friends, under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, good, society flats are being constructed for the homeless. And this will not be like the Adarsh society that was in news during the tenure of the previous government. In fact, Adarsh or an ideal society is being created in true terms where the dreams of ordinary men and women are nurtured and self-confidence for a better future develops.
Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, financial assistance of up to Rs.2.5 lakh is being deposited in the bank accounts by our government. That is the loan amount of Rs.2.5 lakh immediately gets reduced which means the poor and the middle class is getting help even in home loans.
Besides, the interest rates on home loans have also been reduced considerably compared to before. Under this scheme, interest subsidy of 6.5% is being provided to the people from Economically Weaker Sections and Low Income Groups by the government.
People from Middle Income Group have been provided an interest subsidy of 3-4%. This means if someone has taken a home loan of 20 lakh rupees for 20 years, then he will get an assistance of about Rs.6 lakh from the government during this period.
Friends,
As a result of these honest efforts of the government, lakhs of people have booked, purchased their first house in the last 1-1.5 year.
As per a report, the rate of buying a new house in the last 7-8 months has more than doubled compared to the previous year.
I am told that the scheme that is being launched today will also help such people. More than 85 thousand people in Maharashtra have received an assistance of Rs. 2000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
Friends,
We are aiding the middle class not only for getting them a house but also for addressing all the related issues.
Till four years back, you are well aware of the kind of problems that you had to face while getting the house booked with your entire life's savings.
You were unable to get hold of your house because of arbitrariness and pernicious intensions of certain people. There also were cases where something was promised but entirely a different thing was delivered. Our government has made a great effort to curb this trend.
Today Real Estate Regulatory Authority  has been notified in most states of the country. The Tribunal too is in operation in 21 states.
I congratulate Fadnavis ji because Maharashtra is one of the states in the country which has implemented RERA first. Nearly 35,000 real estate projects and 27,000 real estate agents across the country have been registered. And Maharashtra has the highest number of projects in it.
Friends,
Just imagine, the real estate sector was in operation without any definite law for the past 70 years. Had the previous governments created similar laws before, then the home buyers wouldn't have had to approach the court and the real estate sector would have transparently flourished.
Brothers and sisters,
The government is relentlessly making efforts to help the lower and the middle income groups reduce their electricity bills. More than 30 crore LED bulbs have been distributed across the country under UJALA scheme. Out of these, 2.25 crore bulbs have been distributed in Maharashtra and lakhs of bulbs have also been distributed in Thane. The work done by a 60 Watt bulb is not being done by bulbs of 7-8 Watt. This means that electricity is being saved and the electricity bill is getting reduced.
With the help of just this scheme, several families of this country are now able to save nearly Rs.16 thousand crores annually. Maharashtra alone has saved electricity bill of Rs.1100 Crores per year.
This was possible because we worked on LED bulbs on mission mode encouraged the companies to increase their production, promoted competition and removed the middlemen. Consequently, the LED bulbs that used to cost around Rs.250-300 till four years ago, now cost Rs.50.
Friends,
The central government is moving ahead on the path of 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas'. Efforts are being made so that no village, city or class of the country remains untouched by development. Schemes are being formulated and implemented so as to uplift the standard of living of the poor.
Under the Ujjwala scheme, free gas connections are being provided across the country to make the lives of the poor sisters smoke-free and also to save their time.
So far, about 6 crore connections have been given across the country of which more than 34 lakh sisters belong to Maharashtra including Thane.
Friends,
The doors of the banks are always open for those sisters who want to start their small businesses - like salon, tailoring, weaving, handicraft etc.
Under the MUDRA Yojana, loans between Rs 50 thousand and Rs.10 lakh is being given without guarantee. About 1.25 crore such loans have been given in Maharashtra, of which 1 crore are in the name of sisters.
Brothers and sisters,
Our aim is to provide a dignified life to the poor and the women.
Our government is dedicated to the five streams of development - education for children, income for the youth, medicines for the elderly, irrigation for the farmers and hearing for the masses.
In the end, once again, I congratulate you all for the new projects of development. I am really grateful to you all for coming here in such large numbers and showering your blessings.
I will be going to Pune from here. I will be launching and laying the foundation-stones of projects worth thousands of crores even there. I congratulate you for showing this great strength by assembling here in huge numbers!
Thanks a lot!